Jeri Jacquin

Just in time for the holidays from director Hayao Miyazaki, legendary Studio Ghibli and Shout! Studios comes the animated story of THE BOY AND THE HERON in time for gift giving.

Mahito Maki (Luca Padovan) is a young boy who lives in Tokyo during the Pacific War with father Shoichi (Christian Bale) who owns a munitions factory and mother Hisako. They are woken during the night to discover that the hospital is on fire and his mother Hisako is there. Trying to deal with her death, Mahito receives new that his father has married Natsuko (Gemma Chan) and is expecting a child.

Moving out of the city, the family takes up residence out in the country at an estate. Mahito doesn’t take to his new step-mother easily but is befriended by a Heron (Robert Pattinson). Finding ways to stay out of the house, Mahito follows the heron one day to a sealed tower! He is told it is the last place Natsuko’s granduncle (Mark Hamill) was seen. The heron returns and speaks to Mahito with a promise that Hisako is still alive. But Natsuko saves him from the words of the heron with an arrow giving Mahito the idea to create his own bow and arrows with the feathers of the heron.

Then Mahito begins to hear the maids calling out for Natusko who has disappeared into the forest. Deciding he should go help, Mahito and the maid Kiriko (Florence Pugh) go to the tower as he takes on the heron only to discover he is a Birdman. When a shadow of a wizard appears, Mahito and Kirko are taken to an ocean world and rescued again by Kiriko, a woman with a magic wand. He also meets Himi (Karen Fukuhara) who has pyrokinetic powers. In a world that entices Mahito with creatures, he finds a door back home still looking for Natsuko.

In the delivery room, Mahito and Natsuko still do not find a way to fix the gap between them. It is hurtful words that Mahito is Frozen in the world of paper. In a dream, he sees the wizard once again who wants him to create a better world by releasing malice by taking his place. When he doesn’t, The Parakeet King (Dave Bautista) attempts to do so but it fails. When flooding begins, Mahito, Himi and the Birdman find their way out reuniting with Natsuko.

It is time that Mahito realizes where he has been and what he truly wants for his family.

Other cast include Karen Takizawa as Warawara, Barbara Goodson as Aiko, Melora Harte as Eriko, Barbara Rosenblat as Utako, Denise Pickering as Izumi and Willem Dafoe as the Noble Pelican.

SHOUT! Studios has grown into a tremendous multi-platform media company. Releasing new animated features such as the exquisite Long Way North, and the epic fantasy Beauty and The Beast. Also, their own original horror film, Fender Bender gives fans a good scare. For more of what SHOUT has to offer please visit www.shoutfactory.com.

The Boy and The Heron is available on 4K UHD Blu-Ray, Blu-Ray and DVD, and in a Limited Edition Steelbook that includes 4K UHD Blu-Ray, Bluray featuring Dolby Vision plus Dolby Atmos for the ultimate home entertainment experience from GKIDS with home entertainment distribution from Shout! Studios. This is the first title from Studio Ghibli to ever be released on 4K UHD.

Bonus features include Feature-Length Storyboard, Interview with Composer Joe Hisaishi, Interview with Producer Toshio Suzuki, Interview with Supervising Animator Takeshi Honda, Drawing with Takeshi Honda, “Spinning the Globe” Music Video, Teasers and Trailers.

THE BOY AND THE HERON is an absolutely stunning animated piece of filmmaking but then again, I would expect nothing less from director Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli. The story is not just about a boy looking for more than one person but instead trying to discover how to release his own personal pain and accept the change that life brings. I love stories that are intertwined so that it becomes an adventure in itself to unravel the mysteries.

The animation is also absolutely stellar in every sense with amazingly bright colors, artistic renditions of the heron, the boy, the characters and the places that they go. Bringing the cast of famous voices is perfection and I am a huge fan of Dafoe and Hamill putting their voices to iconic character. The soundtrack isn’t overpowering but instead lets the story lead us all. That is what brings audiences to see Studio Ghibli’s work and why each one has resonated with fans. It is truly breathtaking and, I am thrilled that my own granddaughter has become a fan of this style of animation and of Hayao Miyazaki.

In the end – it is a boy’s journey discovering truths of who he is!

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